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Backyard BBQ Party Calculator

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Backyard BBQs are a fun and easy way to feed a large number of people, and are especially popular for family cook-outs.

If you're thinking of having a backyard barbeque for a birthday, graduation, Fourth of July, or family reunion and need to know how much to buy and prepare, you'll can get an estimate of what you'll need using this calculator. After you enter the number of guests you'll be serving, the result will provide a breakdown of common purchased ingredients which you can use as a checklist to prepare for your event.

The calculator will give you an estimation of the quantities you'll need to feed 10, 25, 30, 50 or more guests. You can even print out the results.

To ensure you have juicy burgers, use 80/20 ground beef. The higher fat content is what makes the burgers so juicy.

Cooking burgers on the grill for 10 people is definitely feasible. But cooking burgers for 20 or 100 on the grill and having everyone eat at the same time is definitely not feasible. Either pre-grill the hamburgers an hour before guests arrive and store them inside a covered aluminum pan (with a little moisture) in an oven on low heat until serving time. Another option is to fully cook them in an oven and store the burgers in a covered aluminum pan containing beef broth. Either way, make sure the burgers' internal temperature is 160 degrees before serving. When it's time to eat, turn the grill on high heat and flash grill the burgers; you can whip up a lot of burgers in short order and your guests can still enjoy the aroma of grilled hamburgers.

If you are making your own burger patties instead of buying them, you'll want your cooked burgers to each be 1/4 pound in weight. One pound (16 ounces) of 80/20 raw ground beef, after grilling, will equal 12 ounces of cooked ground beef (3 burgers), so each raw ground beef patty should weigh approximately 5 1/3 ounces before cooking.

Unless you have someone continually manning the grill and cooking dogs on-demand for a small gathering, it's best to simply heat the hot dogs and keep them in a covered crock pot or warming pan with a small amount of water to maintain moisture. No one likes over-cooked, shriveled dogs!

Based on some feedback from previous BBQ parties, the burger to dog choice ratio among guests seems to run about 70% burgers and 30% hot dogs. This matches consumption statistics, which say that Americans (on average) eat 3 hamburgers per week versus one hot dog per week. When offering both burgers and dogs, plan on having 1.5 burgers and .5 hot dogs per person.

Use condiment bottles to make self-serve as well as clean up easier.

The calculator will provide an estimate of items needed based on standard serving sizes. However, guests' preferences as well as appetite can vary greatly so you may have too much of one item and not enough of another. Please come back and leave feedback after your event on how the Backyard BBQ Party Calculator worked for you!